Revelations
by Jae UK
Summary: My first Alias fanfic. Set near the end of S1.
1. 1

1.

Sydney Bristow stood on the roof of the building. Looking down she could see the traffic below her, cars and people looking like ants from the great height. Above the stars twinkled in the sky, encouraged by the full moon.

Hearing voices coming up the stairs she felt even more panicked then she had before. She had to act quickly as she was unarmed. She stepped into a dark corner of the roof, listening.

"You're telling me a woman ran up here?" One voice asked disbelieving.

Without looking Sydney could tell the voice belonged to the hotel's head of security, Adam Campbell. She knew because she had been working undercover as a chambermaid in the hotel for the last two days.

Concealed in her hiding place Sydney took the opportunity to look at the small box she was risking her life for.

"There's no-one up here! There couldn't be! It's impossible. This hotel's security is too tight. I should know, I'm in charge of it." Campbell boasted.

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name." The other voice said.

"My name?" Campbell questioned. "It's Campbell, Adam Campbell." He replied proudly.

"Well Mr Campbell, my name is Patrick Owens…"

"Mr Owens…I…err…had no..." Campbell stuttered.

'Oh my god!' Sydney thought, her eyes widening in shock. 'Owens is here!'

Her mission had been clear from the start. All she had to do was get the prototype off of Patrick Owens. The only catch was he wouldn't let the box get out of his sight. But Sydney hadn't thought that would be a problem. SD6 had received intel that Owens was staying at LA's own Queen Elizabeth Hotel. She hadn't counted on Owens being as dangerous as she later found out. On her first day undercover he had taken the life of her partner, Alex Green, who was posing as one of the hotels' porters, without breaking a sweat.

"I know you didn't" Owens cut Campbell off.

From her hiding place Sydney heard the quiet pop of a gun with a silencer. She took a chance and looked out, knowing that if she were seen she would be dead. Luckily Owens had his back to her. She spotted Campbell slumped on the floor, dead. Her heart went crazy in her chest. She definitely wasn't safe.

"Who's up here?" Owens called. "I know you're here, I would have got to you sooner if I hadn't ran into Campbell coming out of the john."

Sydney hadn't realised she had even been spotted taking the prototype.

She took another look at Owens. He was walking around the roof with his gun in his hand. Stepping back she disturbed a pile of stones with her foot. 'Uh oh!' Owens turned and headed towards her. There was nowhere to go. Sydney stepped out and put her hands in the air, indicating she was unarmed.

"Where's the box bitch?"

"Je ne comprendz pas. Je ne parle pas Anglais. Je soulmaint parle Frances." She tried, hoping to hold him off shooting her. Backing up towards the edge of the roof.

"Come off it, I know you're American! Now give me the box and I'll give you your life." He lied, raising the gun towards her and fired.


	2. 2

2.

In the apartment Sydney shared with Francie Calfo, Francie was playing a video game with their other best-friend Will Tippin when the telephone started ringing.

"Who could that be?" Francie thought out loud. I'm not expecting anyone and Syd's in San Francisco for the next couple of days."

"It's not for me!" Will stated when Francie gave him a hard look. "I don't live here."

Putting her joypad down she walked to the phone on the kitchen wall. Before picking up she turned to Will laughing. "Hey, put that pad down. No cheating! This better be worth it!"

"It's the only way I'm gonna beat you at this game! How'd you get so good anyway? Ahh, now I know why you're single." Will ducked as a bag of popcorn came flying towards him.

Still laughing she answered the phone. "Hello, if you're selling anything I already have two."

Will stopped laughing the instant he saw Francie's face. "Fran, What's wrong?"

"We have to go to the hospital. Now!" She told Will. "Syd's had an accident."


	3. 3

3.

"Hi, we're here for Sydney Bristow." Francie called to the receptionist in the hospital as they entered through the large automatic doors. "Which room is she in?" Without waiting for an answer Francie carried on down the corridor.

"Hey, I'm going to have to ask you to wait here while I find out where she is." The receptionist replied.

Still ignoring her, Francie pushed open the first door she came to.

The receptionist came out from behind the front desk. "Miss, you can't go in there."

Francie stopped when she realised she had the wrong room. "You don't understand, my best friend's been in an accident I have to see her!"

"If you don't come back to the desk I'll have to call security."

Will took Francie's arm. "Come on Fran, the sooner we see the receptionist, the sooner we'll find Syd."

"Ok" Francie said softly. He led her to the desk.

"Can I have your friend's full name please?" the receptionist asked.

"Sydney A. Bristow." Replied Francie.

The receptionist keyed it into the computer in front of her.

"Miss Bristow is on the 4th floor. You'll have to take these passes and show them at the desk on that floor." She handed Francie and Will their passes and watched as they filled in their names.

On the way to the elevator, the journalist in Will kicked in. "Why do we need passes to see Syd?"

"Don't go all news reporter on me Will, I don't care, I just want to find Syd. I don't know what happened or even how she is! They wouldn't tell me anything over the phone."

Will kept quiet but only because he could see how upset Francie was.

On the 4th floor they stepped out of the elevator, showed their passes at the desk and were led to a waiting room at the end of the corridor.

"I don't believe this!" Francie threw her jacket onto a chair in the empty waiting room. "Why can't we see her yet?"

"Calm down." Will told Francie, not feeling so calm himself. "They'll let us see her when she's ready." He took a seat and gently pulled Francie down beside him.

After fifteen minutes a door opened on the left of the corridor. Out of it came a doctor, followed by Jack Bristow and another guy Francie had never seen before.

"Jack." Francie stood up and rushed over to him.

Sydney's father looked as calm as ever and gave Francie a look as if to wonder why she was there.

Almost ignoring her he continued speaking to the doctor. "Thank you doctor." He said finally as he shook the doctor's hand then he turned to the young man.

"Mr Bristow." Will burst, unable to wait any longer "What happened?"

"Sydney was shopping late night in the mall when she was mugged at gunpoint. She was shot in her upper arm…"

"Shot? Oh my god" Will and Francie burst out in unison.

"The bullet just grazed her." The unknown man explained.

Jack continued as if he hadn't just been interrupted. "Most of her injuries where sustained when she fell down the escalator she was riding at the time."

"Jesus!" Will exclaimed. "Can we see her?" While he asked he noticed for the first time that the other man looked just as upset as he felt.

"Yes," the well-dressed man replied, ignoring the look Jack gave him, "but she's sleeping so you'll have to be quiet."

"We were just going to get a coffee anyway." Jack added stiffly, not bothering to ask Sydney's friends if they would like anything.


	4. 4

4.

The first thing Francie noticed as she walked into the room was the large bandage covering the side of Sydney's head. Sydney's arm was also heavily bandaged and a few bruises were beginning to surface.

Taking the seat by the bed Francie gently took Sydney's hand carefully avoiding the IV drip in it. Will took a seat on the opposite side.

"Thank god she's ok." Will whispered to Francie.

"Yeah I'm so relieved it's nothing more serious," She whispered back, "I mean she was held at gunpoint. A gun was actually held at her!"

They were both silent for a while, thinking about what could have been. A lone tear ran down Francie's check.

"Hey Fran? " Will whispered suddenly. When she looked at him he carried on. "Do you really believe what they said about what happened to her?"

"Will, this is not the time for any of your reporter BS! Of course I believe it. Why shouldn't I?"

"It's just that Syd was supposed to be in San Francisco…"

"Aahhh no Will, she must have finished her trip early and decided to do some shopping, she doesn't have to let us know what she's doing 24/7."

"And who was that guy outside?"

Not bothering to keep her voice down, Francie replied; "I'm not having this conversation with…" Before she could finish her answer Jack entered the room followed by the other man.

"Hey, hey, hey, what's going on in here?" Jack asked quietly.

"We were just discussing the accident Mr Bristow. We were so surprised by it all. We hadn't even realised she was in town, we thought she was away on business."

The other man softly cleared his throat. "That would be my fault. I lost a deal and business in San Francisco was cut short. Sydney mentioned she had a few errands to run in the mall and she thought she'd do them before she went home." Noticing the quizzical looks both Francie and Will were giving him he carried on. "My name's Michael Vaughn. I work at the bank with Sydney." They all shook hands.

Five minutes later, talk had turned to small talk. Will and Vaughn both found they had their love for sports in common and Francie was politely asking how Jack's work was going. Sydney stirred in her bed her eyes flickering awake.

"Hey, what's going on?" A confused Sydney asked quietly from her hospital bed. She couldn't have spoken any louder even if she had wanted to, as the pain in her head was so great.

"It's ok honey," The affectionate term sounded strange even to Jack's own ears. "You had a minor accident at the mall." He said indicating the cover story he had created before Will or Francie had a chance to speak.

"Minor!" Will exclaimed. "Being mugged at gunpoint isn't minor."

Sydney glanced around the room. Instantly everything came back to her almost in slow-motion; stealing the prototype from Owens' hotel room, racing to the roof, hiding until she could hide no longer, Owens bullet grazing her arm at her at exactly the same time she stepped off of the roof. Luckily she had been wearing a jacket designed by SD6's own Marshall Flinkman, a jacket with a parachute hidden in the lining. If only Owens' bullets hadn't destroyed the parachute she would have landed safely, instead of free-falling the last two storeys. Everything after that, until now, was a blur.

Sydney was suddenly hit with a feeling of great stupidity. 'I should have waited until I was more prepare to get the prototype,' She thought looking around the room at the people who cared about her most in the world. Her best friends Will and Francie the people who knew everything about her but didn't really know her at all, people she had to lie to everyday only because she loved them so much. Her father, a man who she was only just starting to get to know after they were practically estranged for almost twenty years. And lastly, her CIA handler Michael Vaughn, the only person who knew absolutely everything about her. 'I wasn't ready and I nearly lost my life because of it.'

"How are you feeling Syd?" Francie asked her voice full of concern.

"I'm ok," Sydney replied and tried to sit up. "Ooohhh." She cried out, her vision blurred and a feeling of nausea came over her

"Here Syd, let me help." Francie straightened Sydney's pillows so she was able to sit up. "I think you're going to be in here for at least another day. When my cousin Michelle had an accident she was in hospital for three days after due to the concussion."

Sydney shot Vaughn a worried glance. She knew she was a sitting target here. Even though Owens probably had the prototype back he more than likely wanted her dead. Vaughn shook his head, silently telling her not to worry.

Francie patted Sydney's pillows down and misinterpreted the look "Don't worry Syd, we'll get a TV in here and as much chocolate as you can eat and you'll be out of here in no time."

'If only that was all I had to worry about Fran,' Sydney thought.


	5. 5

5.

An hour later Will and Francie left, promising to be back later with movies and chocolate. Sydney, although genuinely exhausted had pretended to be tired to encourage them to go. As much as she wanted them there she had things to discuss with her father and handler.

Jack and Vaughn had given the impression of leaving half an hour before. Really they had gone down to the ground floor waiting room and watched until the saw Sydney's friends leave.

When they returned to Sydney's room they found her asleep.

As her Jack took her hand she awoke again.

"Are you ready to talk about the mission Sydney?" Her father asked, "We understand if you'd like to talk about it later."

"Jack, can't you see she needs to sleep." Vaughn interrupted.

"No, Vaughn, I was just dosing. I can sleep later. We need to discuss this now." She said softly, her head still hurt when she spoke but not as much as before, the morphine the doctor had given her had kicked in. "Did we get the prototype?"

Vaughn looked at Jack, then back to Sydney again. "Yes and no. You still had the box on you when our man picked you up but the prototype was a fake. In fact, we have reason to believe that Owens' himself didn't know it wasn't real. What we did find was interesting though, the box itself held the plans Rambaldi had designed for the machine. I don't know if you know but the prototype is a scale model of a machine Rambaldi created to actually travel through time. So the mission was a success. The box is in safe CIA hands. As far as SD6 knows though, Owens still has it."

'Some success.' Sydney thought, mentally looking herself up and down. "What about Owens? Is he in custody?"

"No, we sent some men up to the roof but he was long gone. We now have reports he's checked out of the hotel. At this moment we do not know where he is." Vaughn replied.

"And you think he'll come after me?" Sydney asked after hearing the concern in his voice.

"As Agent Vaughn just said, we do not know Owens' current location, but, to answer your question, we think he'll probably want the box back."

Sydney gave each of them a concerned glance.

"Sydney, you have no reason to feel unsafe. While you are here you will be kept under constant surveillance, there will be two agents posted outside and it is almost impossible for someone to get up here unannounced, a list has been given to both the receptions downstairs and up here and only people on that list are allowed access to this floor." Her father reassured her.

"What about Francie and Will? Don't you think they notice that I'm being guarded?"

"With any luck, they will never notice the agents outside. They have been instructed to watch from the waiting room so they will look like any other people coming in to visit their friends and family. If your friends happen to ask why they need passes to this floor just explain that there is an Senator recovering from a heart bypass who wishes to remain anonymous."

Sydney shifts in her bed, momentarily sending a spike of pain through her head.

"Syd are you Ok?" Vaughn asked.

"I think she just needs some sleep, Agent Vaughn." Jack stated. "Would you like me to get a doctor Sydney?"

"No. I just need a rest." Sydney said softly her voice full of sleep.

"Bye Syd." Vaughn said touching her hand as her said it. He started for the door, holding it open for Jack to come through.

"I'll just be a moment Agent Vaughn." He said, shutting the door. Turning back to Sydney he bent over her and kissed her check. "Don't worry Sydney, we have agents working flat out trying to track down Owens. The moment we know where he is we'll let you know." He paused as if to say something more. Sydney knew that since the death of his wife when she was only six years old he found it hard to show his emotions. "Goodnight Sydney." He said finally.

As he reached the door Sydney called him back. "Yes Sydney?"

"I love you dad."

Pausing for a moment longer he told Sydney he loved her too, but she hadn't heard as by this time she had fallen fast asleep.


	6. 6

6.

The next morning Sydney was feeling a lot better. A nurse awoke her at 8am with her breakfast and gave her some painkillers watching as she swallowed them. Once the nurse had left the room Sydney took the two tablets out from the side of her mouth. Just as she was about to get out of bed a doctor came into her room to check her vitals and informed her that she could probably be discharged later that day.

When he left she pulled back the sheets and instantly wanted to tuck her legs back under the warm covers. She bought her legs around the side of the bed and stepped onto the floor, wincing at how cold it was and took the pills out from under her pillow. Disappointed that she couldn't find any slippers and still feeling a bit unsteady she carefully walked to the en-suite bathroom in the corner of her room, holding the wall to balance herself. Once in the bathroom Sydney pulled the door shut behind her and instantly threw the tablets into the toilet bowl. She flushed and carefully returned to her bed.

Just as she finished her breakfast there was a knock at her door.

She was suddenly alert. Climbing out of bed again she slowly walked to the bathroom.

There was another knock on her door.

Quickening her pace as much as her aching limbs and the throbbing in her head would allow she went into her bathroom. She had noticed when she was in there earlier that there was a large window in the room, big enough for her to climb out if needs be.

There was another knock and this time the person on the other side was turning the door handle.

She pulled the bathroom door shut and could hear voices in her room.

"That's strange, she's not in her." It was Francie's voice.

The relief that washed over her nearly caused her to collapse in a heap on the cold floor.

"She's in the bathroom Fran."

As Sydney opened the door Will, who was standing nearest to her went over to her putting his arm around her for support.

"What are you doing out of bed?" He asked, helping her back into bed.

"I just needed the bathroom." Sydney replied sheepishly.

"What do you think nurses are for Syd?"

"I couldn't have someone around me in there, the thought of it makes me feel uncomfortable."

"You look so much better today." Francie told her, quickly changing the subject.

"Thank you Fran." She replied with a smile.

"Have you spoken to the doctor yet? When can you come home?"

"If all goes well later today."

"That's great. Here I picked up some of your clothes for you."

Sydney gratefully took the bag Francie was holding out to her.

"Thanks. Can you…err…give me a…hand?" She asked Francie, feeling shy about having to ask for help getting dressed.

"Sure. Will don't you have to get some coffee or something?"

"No, I'm fine."

"Will!" Francie responded through grated teeth.

A look of understanding came over Will's face. "Oh, ok sure. Do you want anything?"

"No thank you." Sydney replied.

"Ok then I'll just go out and chat to those guys in the waiting room." He said, only half joking.

After Will left Francie helped Sydney to sit up on her bed.

"I'll be glad when I get this top on." Sydney said, pulling a thick woollen jumper from the bag Francie had brought. "It's so cold in this room."

As Francie helped Sydney pull her hospital gown over the large bandage on her head she let out a gasp.

"What is it?" Sydney asked, worried. She looked at Francie who was staring at her back.

"All these cuts and bruises on you Syd! I'm so glad you're alright." She bent over and carefully gave Sydney a hug. "I don't know what I would have done if I'd lost you Syd." She said with a tear running down her cheek.

Five minutes later, Sydney was dressed and was feeling a lot more comfortable.

"We brought you your favourite movie." Francie told her as she fluffed Sydney's pillow. "I'll call Will in here."

After Will came back he took a seat on the chair by the bed while Sydney moved over giving Francie a seat next to her on the bed and they settled down to watch Lawrence Of Arabia on the small TV in the corner of the room.


	7. 7

7.

Later that afternoon Sydney had been given the all clear by her doctor. Will and Francie had left around lunchtime, promising to be back to pick her up at five pm.

At around three pm Sydney was sitting on her bed absentmindedly flicking channels on the TV when Vaughn called through her door.

"Come in." She called back, turning the TV off.

As he stepped inside the room her heart skipped a beat in her chest as it did everytime she saw him. He was dressed casually in a light jumper and jeans but something about the way he walked told her that he was here on business.

"How are you Sydney?" He asked walking over to her bed, his face full of concern.

"I'm good. The doctor said I can leave later today."

"That's great!" He replied. "Look…"

There was so much going through her mind, she had to interrupt him. "Have you tracked down Owens yet?" She asked.

"We have reports of a man fitting his description leaving LAX early this morning, that's all we have, nothing has been confirmed. We have agents looking at the CCTV as we speak. But, I have to be honest; we don't think it was him. He doesn't have the box so he has no reason to leave town yet..." He paused.

"So, you think he will be after me." Sydney finished for him. Of course it was obvious that Owens would be after her. He didn't know who she worked for so he would be looking for her, as she was probably the only person Owens knew of who knew the whereabouts of Rambaldi's box. Sydney was the key to him getting the box back.

What did he know about Sydney? He knew she had worked undercover as a chambermaid in the hotel but she had broken her cover after she took the box. Therefore he knew exactly what she looked like. He would be on the look out for a young woman in her mid-twenties, about 5ft 9ins with light brown hair.

Vaughn paused again and took in a breath. "Yes, he will be after you," he exhaled. "Don't worry though, you will have agent watching you at all times."

'Great,' Sydney thought. Although it would be the good guys watching over her, the thought of the constant surveillance made her feel uncomfortable. She had always preferred to do things her own way, no-matter how much danger she was in.

"But, we do have some good news." Vaughn added.

"Oh and what would that be?" Sydney replied, not bothering to hide how upset she was. This accident had affected her more than she realised. She was normally so good at masking her emotions.

"We know who Patrick Owens works for." Vaughn informed her. "He's K-Directorate."

"How is that good news?" Sydney asked.

"Well, this isn't going to sound very comforting but now we know how big his operation to find you will be."

If Sydney were feeling her usual self she would have realised this as the benefit it was. Knowing that Owens was K-Directorate meant the CIA could contact any moles they had undercover in K-Directorate, gathering any intel they had on him and generally making it easier to track him down.

Vaughn relaxed. Sydney took that as a sign that the business side of things was over, for now.

"Sydney?" She loved the way he said her name, though she would never tell him that.

Their eyes met and they held eye contact for a moment longer than was typically necessary.

"Yes?" She whispered. She couldn't have spoken normally even if she wanted to.

"I'm glad you're Ok."


	8. 8

8.

"Welcome home Sydney!" Will and Francie called out together as they entered the apartment Sydney and Francie shared.

"You guys," Sydney looked at them. "I was only in hospital one night!"

At the hospital her doctor had given her a final examination before declaring her fit to go. He'd removed the large bandage that had been wrapped around her head and replaced it with a smaller one that only covered half of her right temple. He had also given her a small paper bag containing her painkiller prescription, which she knew she would throw out as soon as she had some time to herself.

"You didn't need to do this." Sydney continued. On the table by their sofa was a small helium balloon, which read "Welcome Home!"

As Will helped her over to the sofa, Francie disappeared into the kitchen, returning with a large tub of chocolate ice cream along with three spoons.

"Dig in." Francie ordered handing Sydney the tub. Not being one to turn down her favourite food, Sydney took the ice cream and started eating.

"This beats hospital food anytime."

After the ice cream tub was empty (Sydney had eaten half of it herself) Sydney stretched. "I think I'm going to have a shower." She said standing up.

"Ok, you don't need a hand do you?"

"No thanks Fran, I'll be fine."

As she headed for the shower Will and Francie resumed the video game they had been playing the day before. Opening the bathroom door she could hear the telephone ringing.

"However it is I don't want to talk to anyone." Sydney called out as Francie picked up the receiver.

"It was just a wrong number." Francie called back. "They wanted Joey's Pizza."

'What could they want?' Sydney thought. 'Well, whatever it is can wait; I think I deserve a steaming hot shower after everything I've been through. They'll just have to wait.'

Stepping into the shower Sydney turned the hot tap a bit further letting the hot water fall over her head. As she stepped out she grabbed a large towel and wrapped it around herself. She paused, looking at herself in the large mirror above the sink. She almost felt like herself again. Her hair hung limply over her face as she examined the injuries she'd received the day before. Peeling the large bandage from her head she replaced it with a slightly smaller plaster, which she'd dug out of a cupboard. Then she unwrapped the bandage around her arm. The cut there was only small but a large, ugly bruise surrounded it. She took out a bandage from the cupboard and wrapped it around her slightly swollen arm, which didn't hurt as much when the pressure was reapplied to it. The minor scratches on her face and arms were healing already.

After she had put on some clothes and dried her hair she applied some mascara and lip-gloss and returned to her friends in the living room.

"Better?" Will asked

"Completely." She replied with a smile. "Ready to beat you." She laughed taking the game controller Francie passed to her.

"You know, I think we should get our phone number changed." Francie said out of the blue ten minutes later. Sydney had been winning the boxing match she was playing against Will but she paused and Will's man was able to gain an advantage, knocking Sydney's man out cold. "I mean since you were in the shower we had three calls asking for Joey's Pizza. What do you think?"

'I think it must be something very urgent for the CIA to call me so many times.' Sydney thought. 'Maybe they've found Owens. I'd better think of an excuse and get to HQ. Quickly.'

"Syd?" Francie asked concerned. "Are you ok, you look like you've seen a ghost?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just…err…need a…urm…walk to clear my head."

"Do you want us to come with you?" Will asked.

"That's ok, I'll be…"The words stopped in her throat as the electricity went out.


	9. 9

9.

Looking out the window Sydney noticed that theirs was the only apartment that didn't have electricity.

"Owens!"

"What was that Syd?" Francie asked a little surprised with the unexpected darkness.

"It must be your circuit breakers." Will stated. "Have you got a flashlight?"

Racing to the front door Sydney pulled back the curtain and looked out. The agents outside were still in their car but they were both slumped unconscious in their seats.

"Syd where are you going? What's wrong? It's just a power failure. No need to get so stressed out." Francie said with a nervous laugh.

Ignoring her friend Sydney ran to her bedroom and pulled out a box from under her bed. As she pulled the lid off a loud crash came from the front door. Hearing voices shouting she took out a discreet radio device, which tucked neatly into her ear. Activating a silent alarm she ran out of her bedroom. Pausing at the sight before her.

Two men in black fatigues had Will and Francie and were in the process of tying them to chairs. Behind them where two other figures who she couldn't make out in the darkness. One, she presumed, was Owens.

"Sydney Bristow." A voice called out. "Why am I not surprised?"

"You know this woman!" Francie managed to ask before the soldier holding her put a gag over her mouth. Her eyes were wide with shock and surprise.

Will was kicking and yelling at the guy holding him before the soldier hit him around the head with the back of his hand knocking him out.

"Will!" Sydney cried.

"So it was you who stole our prototype?" The woman's voice carried on. "Well done." She said clapping. "But you didn't think you could outsmart us, did you, Agent Bristow?"

As she stepped into the moonlight, Sydney could see who she was talking to.

"Anna Espinosa." Francie's eyes widen even more as she realised that not only did this woman know Sydney, Sydney knew her too.

"In the flesh. So, who are you working for today Sydney?" Anna asked, casually taking a seat. "SD6? The CIA?" She laughed. "The KGB? Come on, we're dying to know."

"Enough small talk!" Owens cried. "Where is the prototype?"

"Oh Patrick," Anna hushed him. "There's plenty of time for that later. Me and Sydney here go way back. You could say we're old enemies." She pulled out a gun. "Come on, take a seat." She said patting the chair next to her. "I won't bite…much!"


	10. 10

10.

At CIA HQ Vaughn and Jack were outlining the mission to a team of operatives. After they hadn't heard from Sydney they had become increasingly worried. Only an hour before they had found details regarding Owens whereabouts. They knew he was local. And now Sydney had activated her alarm alerting them that she was in danger.

"Andrews and Davis aren't replying to their radios." Vaughn informed the group, referring to the two agents posted outside Sydney's apartment. "We suspect they have been out numbered and taken out."

A low murmur came from the team.

"This is what we know: Patrick Owens and Anna Espinosa are working together with a couple of her men." Jack carried on, given a nod to Vaughn indicating for him to hand the pictures he was holding. "Look at these photos and memorise their faces. They are all K-Directorate and are to be considered armed and dangerous."

Once they had finished informing the four CIA agents of the mission they headed to a mini-van with darkened windows that was waiting for them in the HQ car park.

They pulled up a block away from Sydney's apartment. Two of the agents crouched down behind a car parked opposite the door and got in position. The other two got in position under the two front windows, while Vaughn stood on the doorstep. The first thing he noticed was that all the lights were out. Looking around him to make sure everyone was ready he got in position.

Jack came through on the radio embedded in Vaughn's ear. "Vaughn, we're good to go."

Vaughn raised his hand and pressed the doorbell.


	11. 11

11.

Sydney's mind was racing as she walked across the room. This was the last way she would have liked Francie and Will to find out she was a spy. Instead of thinking about that though her mind went into mission mode. 'So,' she thought, 'there's four of them against me. They all have weapons but I'm unarmed. I am also not at my full strength at the moment. What advantages do I have?' She asked herself taking a seat next to Anna. She looked around the room.

"How have you been?" Anna asked slightly mocking. "It's been a long time!"

Owens stood next to her, rolling his eyes. "Enough Anna! The prototype"

"Ok, ok." Anna said putting her hand up to silence Owens. She turned back to Sydney. "If you don't mind we'll discuss this in Russian. I had friends once too, they don't need to hear this."

Sydney couldn't stop herself from looking at Francie and Will, who by now had come around, looking slightly dazed. The looks on their faces as flawless Russian came out of her mouth would have been funny if the situation wasn't so serious. "I don't know what you're talking about." Of course she did know but she had to stall them somehow.

Anna stood and gave the soldier next to Francie a nod. He quickly raised his weapon and held it to her head. "This is getting boring Sydney." She responded in fluent Russian. We know you have or at least had the prototype."

Before she could give the soldier another nod, Sydney started speaking. While she explained who had the box she realised something; Anna had a small knife tucked into her utility belt. She had found her advantage.


	12. 12

12.

The doorbell let out its short chimes.

'That all I need! Avon calling!' Sydney thought, trying to find some humour in the situation. She headed over to the door and nearly tripped over a chair in the still dark room. Peeking through the window at the top of the door she saw Vaughn. Throwing the door open she threw her arms around him, ignoring the look of complete surprise he gave her. All the emotions of everything she had just been through came flooding out. Behind him came the four agents and Sydney's father. All had questioning looks on their faces.

Hearing a noise coming from the apartment she let go of Vaughn and ran back inside as if suddenly remembering something she had forgotten.

Vaughn entered the apartment almost in a state of shock. The first thing he noticed was the state of it. Most of the furniture had been overturned and there were pieces of broken glass everywhere. The second thing he noticed was Sydney untying Will and Francie tied to the chair next to him. Squinting her eye at the blood pouring from the freshly re-opened wound on her head she was having trouble undoing the knots. Moving across the room Vaughn could see why she was having so much trouble with the rope, her right hand was swollen twice it's size, probably due to a broken bone or two. Finally he noticed four figures, all dressed in back, heaped in a corner of the room.

"Sydney!" He got out eventually, unable to say anymore.

"Sydney!" Jack called, entering the apartment. Pushing passed Vaughn he untied Francie. This woke Vaughn up and he helped Sydney with Will.

Once Francie was released Sydney helped her up and put her arms around her friend but Francie pushed her away, tears rolling down her face. "I don't know who you are Sydney." She sobbed.

Feeling hurt Sydney tried to give Will a hug, but he too was in a state of shock. "This is huge!"

"Willis, Samson? Can you take these two to HQ for debriefing?" Jack ordered.

Hot tears rolled down Sydney's cheeks and Jack gave her the hug she'd so desperately wanted from her friends.

"Sydney?" Jack asked softly. "What happened here?"


	13. 13

13.

Swiftly taking the knife from Anna's pocket, Sydney stood up and before Anna knew what was happening she had the knife at her throat and Sydney had Anna's gun in her hand. Before the K-Directorate soldier's could do anything Sydney shot both of them dead, or at least unconscious, one bullet only narrowly missed Will's head. Next she turned to Owens. He was quicker then the soldier's though and had his own gun pointed at Sydney.

"You can't shoot me." Sydney, still in Russian, stated using Anna as a shield.

"Can't I?" He said taking a shot.

Sydney hadn't expected this. Didn't he know he would be killed for firing at a senior operative? Luckily the bullet missed but only slightly.

Anna took this opportunity to get out of Sydney's grip. Bringing her elbow down sharply, Sydney let out a cry as it hit her left wrist causing her to drop Anna's gun, which slid into the kitchen area. Knowing Sydney was momentarily thrown off balance, Anna pulled all her weight on Sydney's arm, twisting the knife from her grip. She stepped forward and sent a kick back at Sydney, knocking her to the ground winded.

'This is it!' Sydney thought, watching Anna standing before her with the knife in her hand. 'At least I'm going to die without any hidden secrets from Will and Francie! They know what I do now.' But she was surprised at what happened next.

"What did you think you were doing Owens?" Anna cried. Without waiting for his answer she threw her knife at him, hitting him in the chest. He took a few steps back and dropped to the floor dead.

Will and Francie could only watch as Anna turned back around to confront Sydney, who had disappeared into the darkness of the room. Hiding behind an overstuffed chair Sydney considered her options. She couldn't get to Francie and Will without being seen and neither could Anna. That meant taking the weapons from the soldier's she'd shot wasn't an option and Owens was lying in a heap in the middle of the room so his gun was out of the question too. Her only option was to get Anna's gun, which had slid into the kitchen area only moments before.

She thought hard. Anna didn't know the apartment at all but Sydney knew exactly where every creaky floorboard was. Rising behind the chair she automatically adopted a stealthy stance. Looking out into the room she couldn't see Anna anywhere. Using her ears she listened hard. A minute later she heard a soft noise as Anna trod lightly on a board under the main window. Carefully, Sydney worked her way around the room. There was a problem though, to get into the kitchen area she had to pass a strip of moonlight meaning she would be visible to Anna. She looked around again, listening. She heard another small creak from the other side of the room. 'That's good, Anna's going against me.' Suddenly she had an idea.

Making sure Anna was still across the room, Sydney tried to get Will's attention. Sticking her arm out from her current hiding place she started waving it frantically, watching Will all the time. As they'd been watching the scene between Anna and Owens neither Will nor Francie had noticed Sydney disappear until they had seen the slightly surprise look from Anna and neither of them had expected her to be at the other side of the room as she surely couldn't have passed them. Could she? So Will was very surprised to see movement from the corner of his eye. Looking around he saw Sydney staring back at him. This was bad; if Anna saw him looking she would know where Sydney was. She had to be quick. "Will," she mouthed, "divert her attention." Luckily he got it straight away and instantly began wriggling in his chair. Francie hadn't seen the silent conversation and was scared that Will was drawing unnecessary attention to himself. As Will tipped his chair over, Francie involuntary yelled out from behind the gag. Taking her chance and counting on Anna's attention being diverted to her friends Sydney raced across the patch of moonlight and into the kitchen. On her knees Sydney reached out for the gun and didn't expect Anna's heavily booted foot to come down on her hand. From where they were Francie and Will heard the crack as three bones broke. The pain in her hand seemed to reverberate up her arm. Shocked Sydney managed to slide the gun across the room again just as Anna's boot came up again kicking her in the side of her head, exactly where she'd cut it the day before. 'At least she won't be able to shoot me.'

"Sydney, Sydney, Sydney." Anna shook her head, tutting loudly. Wrongly assuming she would be the victor of this fight.

From her position on the floor Sydney was able to twist and threw her leg across the back of Anna's knees, ignoring the throbbing pain in her hand. Anna fell down hard hitting her head painfully on the kitchen worktop. Momentarily stunned, Sydney was able to drag her rival into the middle of the room. Picking up Owens gun she pointed it at Anna's head…


	14. 14

14.

"…But I couldn't shoot her. I looked up and saw my two best friends, who by the way will probably never speak to me again. They were staring at me as if they'd never laid eyes on me before. Although I have previously had numerous encounters with Anna Espinosa I couldn't bring myself to pull the trigger. In all my years as an agent I have never voluntary killed someone and I didn't intend on doing it with the two people who are closest to me in this world watching. So I tied her up with some rope I found in a kitchen drawer and pulled her over to where the two soldiers I had shot were lying. I pulled Owens over too and was in the process of checking for pulses when Agent Vaughn here rang my doorbell. Any questions?" Sydney asked looking around the room. As everyone shook his or her heads she stood to leave.

After Francie and Will left her apartment with the two agents Vaughn had taken Sydney's car keys and drove Sydney and her father to the HQ, leaving the remaining two agents to wait with Anna and her men for a car to pick them up.

Once at the CIA Sydney had been whisked away to the medical department where the CIA's finest doctors put a plaster cast on her broken hand and stitched up the cut on her head. She was then given a few minutes to straighten up, were she changed into her CIA 'uniform' of a dark skirt suit, before she was taken to her first debriefing.

It was now three hours later and she was leaving her forth and final debriefing, desperate to find Will and Francie. Before she could get out the room though, her father put his hand on her arm, carefully avoiding the bulky sling on her right arm.

He waited for the room to clear before he spoke. "You've done well today Sydney." He said planting a kiss on her cheek. "I'm proud of you honey."

"Thank you Daddy." Sydney replied looking into his eyes. Putting her arm around him she felt like a little girl again. It had been such a long time since her father had shown her any approval.

There was a knock on the door. "Are you ready for this Sydney?" Vaughn asked from the doorway.

Sydney pulled back from her father and looked at him again, a tear running down her face. She nodded. "I'm ready." She said, straightening her jacket and followed Vaughn down the hall to the room her friends were in.

As they walked Vaughn informed Sydney that Francie and Will had been debriefed on Sydney's job status. They knew that her job at 'the bank' was a cover for her working as an international spy for SD6 and they knew she was now working as a double agent for the CIA. Sydney began to feel relieved now that her friends knew.

After what seemed to Sydney like a mile long walk they reached the door. Vaughn raised his hand to knock. "Come in", a voice called from inside. Sydney entered and took a deep breath, taking in the scene before her. Francie and Will were sitting in silence around a small conference table. Agent Weiss was sitting around the table too. As she came in she turned to Vaughn. "Aren't you coming in?" She asked him.

"No Sydney, this is something you should do alone." He said, putting his hand on the doorknob. Pausing for a moment Vaughn looked at Sydney. "I will always be amazed at what you are capable of achieving, Sydney Bristow." He added with a smile before shutting the door. Normally her heart would have fluttered wildly in her chest but she didn't have time to think of that now.

Sydney tried to put all her energy into looking confident as she walked across the room. Weiss stood up and helped her into a chair. "Thanks Weiss." She tried to keep her voice steady.

"Anything for you m'lady." He said jokingly, trying to lift the mood in the room, and added a bow. "Good going Agent Bristow." He added with a wink and left.

"Agent Bristow! I've heard that so many times in the last few hours and I still can't get used to it." Francie, who had been looking at her hands looked up at Sydney. She said it with a laugh but there was no humour in it. "I mean how many people can say their best friends a spy for the CIA?"

"You can't tell anyone!" Sydney said, slightly panicked.

"Who are you to tell me what to do Syd?" Francie was becoming hysterical. "You've been lying to me for the last seven years and not once did you think to tell me! I thought we were best friends."

"We still are Fran."

"No, you let me decide if we're friends or not." She was raising her voice but didn't care. "You can not keep something this big from someone you care about."

"Oh, Fran. It's not like that." Sydney's voice was rising too.

"Isn't…"

Will, who had been quiet for a while suddenly spoke up. "It's because of Danny isn't it?" He interrupted. " I mean that's what killed him wasn't it? You told him what you did! I get it now. I didn't until now." He laughed. "I thought you didn't tell us because you didn't care. But it was exactly the opposite. You didn't tell us because you cared so much."

Francie looked stunned.

"Yes." Tears were running freely down Sydney's face now. "I couldn't marry Danny whilst living a lie. I told him I worked for a covert branch of the CIA and when they found out they murdered him." She looked at her friend. "They murdered my fiancé Francie." She sobbed as Francie got up, walked over to Sydney and gave her a hug. "I didn't couldn't let that happen to you too."

"Oh, Syd." Will said as he joined in.

At that moment Vaughn and Weiss entered the room.

"Come on man, let's give her some space." Weiss said.

"No," Sydney called out, wiping her cheeks with her left hand. "That's ok, I think we're done in here. What is it?"

"I just thought you'd like to know that it's getting late. Would you like me to take all of you home?"

"Sure."

They all grabbed their jackets and followed Vaughn out to Sydney's car.

He drove in silence until Sydney suddenly pointed out the window. "Hey Vaughn, pull in there."

"Huh? Where?"

"Over here." She replied pointing to a late night ice cream parlour.

As they squeezed in to a booth a waitress came over and took their orders. Once she'd left Sydney pulled out what looked like a lipstick.

"This is a device that will prevent anyone listening to our conversation." She explained to Will and Francie, twisting the lid until she heard a beep. "Ask me anything you want to know."

"Syd, have you told us everything you think we need to know?" Will asked.

"Of course."

"Then we have nothing to ask." He added, "We know that when the time comes you'll talk to us but for now we trust you Syd."

As their order's arrived at the table Francie spoke. "There is one thing I'd like to know." She said sheepishly.

"What is it?" Sydney asked.

Francie looked at Vaughn and Sydney.

"Are you two dating?"

"No!" They said in unison, maybe a little too quickly.

"Really!" Francie asked, surprised. "It's just this vibe I'm getting from you."

"We're definitely not dating." Sydney answered, embarrassed.

"Really!" She repeated. "You'd look good together!"


End file.
